SXSW Music 2006

Photo Gallery Wednesday

We got up VERY early and were down at the Four Seasons Hotel by about 6:20... not early enough to get a seat, it was already pretty crowded, and by 7:05 it was so crowded they quit letting people in.

Lyle Lovett was there sitting in with the radio crew like he does regularly now during the 2 big festivals of the year. The whole thing is held in the hotel lobby area, so it is like a big fancy living room, except it's stuffed with cameras and lighting equipment. Some people were nice enough to share a chair at their table with us, but we ended up giving it to someone's mother so we sat on the floor about 5 feet from Lyle and the radio crew.

It was $5 to get in which was for the unlimited continental breakfast, which was really good. The first performer was Newton Faulkner from the UK. He was new to us, and we enjoyed him. Next was the Friends of Dean Martinez, a semi-local semi-Tucson band with Calexico ties and lots of Calexico flavor. Not sure what the exact Calexico connection is. Anyway, we really liked them.

Then Stephen Bruton played, and was joined by Kris Kristofferson and Jessi Colter. You might know Jessi as the widow of Waylon Jennings, and I think that is the most interesting thing about her. Look for Kris to show up later this week as a "surprise" guest at the Saxon Pub during Stephen's show.

The Four Seasons is a unique show experience, but expect crowds and obstructed views (unless you can be there by 6 a.m. and get a chair)

Next stop in the day was the Guitartown party at Mother Egan's. We got there before it started and got right up front. They were moving bands along pretty fast, about 4 songs apiece. James McMurtry was excellent. He played alone with just his acoustic guitar. He is one of our local treasures. Next up was Tom Freund, who is a new find for us. We are going to try and see him again this week. He played an upright bass, and also in the band was lap steel and drums.

Steve Wynn and the Miracle Three followed, one of the most rocking bands around. We saw them last year at the Twangfest Party and wanted to see them again. Great show! After them was Scrappy Jud Newcomb (who seems to be trying to drop the "Scrappy"), he is one of my favorite local guitarists, and he played in the next set with Walter Tragert. Beatle Bob was in attendance.

We waved goodbye to Guitartown and went across the street to Opal Divine's for a set by Glen Phillips, who is one of our favorites. It sounded just great, his voice and guitar... which is all he has, he works alone. Good songs too, and Beatle Bob approved as he turned up there as well.

It was back to the car (which fortunately was still there after being parked for 5 hours at Book People) to head down to South Congress where Steve Wynn played a bit longer set at Yard Dog. I guess we are fans of his now. It's hard to describe his sound, maybe kind of an alt-country punk. They played one song and described it as a combination Queen and Allman Brothers... and it wasn't far off. The one guitar player has a Pete Townsend vibe going. Totally confused yet?

We finished up our 14 hour day over at Beck's where we caught a couple of songs by Gina DeVorak, but we were really done by then. Tried to get a Chronicle over at the Music Hall to see who won the Austin Music Awards, but were too early and didn't want to hang, so I had to wait until the next day to see who won everything.

Photo Gallery Thursday

Another really great music day.We went over to Yard Dog plenty early to get a good spot for Nickel Creek, so we saw the two bands who played before them. They were very young bands (like Creek), the first one called Office had a kind of next-gen new wave vibe (newer wave?). Pretty good. I never got into new wave music so they had a neutral effect. The next band was Tapes 'N Tapes, real hard rock, fun to watch and real great energy, but one of the loudest bands I've ever heard in my life. I couldn't hear a note of what the keyboard player was playing. At some point he pulled out a Flugelhorn, and I couldn't hear a note of that either. Keep in mind that this is a baby-boomer review of some hot young bands. Pretty meaningless if you are looking for a critique, but I don't do critiques anyway. The Chronicle journalist picked Tapes 'N Tapes as the pick of the day. Neil Young was just hangin' around the party (see gallery).

Nickel Creek came on after that, completely unplugged with one microphone for the three of them. If we hadn't been standing 3 feet away, we wouldn't have even heard some of it. How amazing is SXSW, that we can see Nickel Creek under a tiny tent in the alley behind a funky art gallery when they sold out Stubb's last time they were here? And also with free beer... and free whiskey? I had a free beer AND a free whiskey, and since I never drink whiskey I realized later that it was the very reason that I got so tired at mid-afternoon. We went home to rest, listened to Creek live again on KGSR radio, and went out again.

We went over to Cafe Caffeine in early evening to see a bit longer set with Tom Freund. It was a parking lot show and a little out-of-the-way (possibly hard to find) so it was not very crowded. Pamela Des Barres showed up during the set, but we didn't stay for the band(s) she was there to see because it was time to go to Momo's and try to get in to The Greencards' showcase. We got there while Bobby Bare was still playing, so they told us to try back later (being un-badged and un-banded). Sure enough, it worked, and they said they would only sell four tickets and no more. We grabbed the front and center table like a couple of VIPs, and had plenty of time to visit with the band to boot. They put on one HELL of a show, everyone was really impressed! Carey Ott followed the 'Cards, and brought a Beatle Bob blessing along with them. I thought they were fine but didn't particularly catch the Carey Ott fever. I thought the final act, RobinElla was much better. Really enjoyed her and her band, but The Greencards were still the highlight for us.

Photo Gallery Friday

Friday was a very easy music day, it was the No Depression Magazine Party at the Cactus Cafe. In previous years this was a private party for invites and presumably badges, but this year it was open to the public, free, and 2 drink tickets were provided. We got there stupid-early (my term for being the only people in line for a long time) on my suggestion, but I didn't mind because it meant that we got a front row table, and there was a long line of people outside the venue waiting to get in throughout the whole 4-hour show.

Big Blue Hearts — brand new Austin band who just moved here from L.A. They are not new musicians, though. They just released their second record. They have a terrific sound like I really love: lots of Orbison, Raul Malo, Elvis and Michael Fracasso in the vocals accompanied with very catchy melodies and big twang. Sarah Harmer — from Canada, nice acoustic folky band who stunned everyone with an unplugged vocal harmony piece. Tres Chicas — would be better maybe in another venue, especially where the poor keyboard person could fit on the stage. Marty Stuart — mandolinist, old-school veteran of Flatt and Scruggs had some nice rockabilly, hillbilly and especially Gospel. He was allowed an encore, even on the tight schedule. Patterson Hood — is the lead singer for Drive By Truckers. He had some great edgy lyrics. Teddy Thompson — I am intoxicated by Teddy's voice, and he's a great songwriter. Really pretty electric guitar music from his band mate too. Teddy's set was the one shortened by the various delays in the schedule, but he will be back at the Cactus next month. I hope to be there, and his new CD is high on my buy-list. Incidentally, Teddy is the son of Richard and Linda. He doesn't sing like his dad at all, but both have wonderful voices... and there's that songwriting thing too. Beth Orton — another gorgeous voice and fantastic songwriter. She played alone with a guitar, and did her last number accapella because of frustratingly breaking a string after having some tuning issues. Her voice is enough though.

So we had a whole day of seeing new people we hadn't seen before, and that's something I love about SXSW. A great day of music in the comfort of an indoor venue with chairs, tables, and clean rest rooms. A sharp contrast to all other choices. After the show, we went to the new Cosmic Cafe vegetarian restaurant that used to be the West Lynn Cafe (which was also a vegetarian restaurant... I love this town).

Photo Gallery Saturday

At the last minute we decided to go up to Waterloo Records to see the Little Willies and Rosanne Cash. We got there a couple hours early, knowing it would crowd up good, and of course, it did, but we got a "front row" spot. The Little Willies is a band with Norah Jones in it. Besides that, it's just a pretty regular but fun band that plays old-time country ditties. We aren't particularly fans of Norah Jones and this was kind of a novelty act, and taken in that way it was very enjoyable. Norah is about as pretty as a person can get, and has a nice sultry voice, but I don't find her to be that interesting musically.

Rosanne Cash put on a great show, and sound was excellent (that goes for both shows, a high compliment considering that this is a record store and some of the music venues couldn't get it right). She was all worth the wait!

After lunch at Whole Foods, we went over to the Dog and Duck for their big rock party. It had been raining and one of their stages wasn't set up for rain or something, so they were running behind having to put everybody on the same stage. We saw the IV Thieves (Nic Armstrong), a band I've been wanting to see. They have kind of a 60's punk vibe, and played with lots of energy. Good band, and Beatle Bob was in attendance for the party. Peter Case was next, and he sounded just fine. I know that I am supposed to know more about Peter Case, but I don't, I must confess. I have heard of him, but that's about it. Case was followed by Steve Wynn, and this was our 3rd show from Wynn. What a great rockin' band with intense (in tents?) energy and They moved around so much that I couldn't resist taking lots of pictures. I am going to have to start a Steve Wynn page, I'm afraid. The band just moved around so much I couldn't resist taking all the shots.

That was about all we had time for at Dog and Duck, so we went home and cleaned up for the evening. When we got to B.D. Riley's I was upset because the sign on the door said "Wristbands and Badges Only", but lucky for us, they let us go in without even taking money! I think it was because we got there before the music started. Anyway, I was relieved, because I really wanted to see the Stringdusters later at midnight. They are an absolutely hot new bluegrass band located in Nashville who just got signed to Sugar Hill, so look out for them! they are just great players. B.D. Riley's gets a thumbs up for letting us in, but a thumbs down for doing a poor job on the sound for the bands.

The venue was on 6th Street, and there is nothing like walking down 6th street during SXSW. It was a good way to finish the week. Tomorrow (Sunday) we've got a regular concert by Nickel Creek down at Gruene Hall. That should do it for the day, and the week.